Attrazione (im)perfetta

by Jessica Hart

Quando gli opposti si attraggono... Si creano tuoni e fulmini! "Clara, o riesci a portarlo in trasmissione, oppure la casa di produzione chiuderà i battenti." Clara Sterne non ha scelta, deve trovare il modo di convincere Simon Valentine, il super richiesto dai fanatici del Dow Jones, ma anche e soprattutto dalle fanatiche del fondoschiena maschile, a partecipare allo show. Il problema è capire come. Loro due non potrebbero essere più diversi: lei è la quintessenza dell'esuberanza e dell'eccentricità; il suo modo di vestire farebbe impallidire anche gli accostamenti più improbabili di Vivienne Westwood. La massima trasgressione per Simon, invece, è indossare una camicia, rigorosamente bianca, senza giacca e parlare del tempo! L'impresa si preannuncia ardua, ma Clara ha già in mente un piano. Speriamo solo che funzioni!

Genres: Romance, Category Romance, Chick Lit, Mills and Boon, Harlequin, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

After a haphazard career spent working and travelling around the world, I stumbled into romance writing as a way to fund a PhD. My first book, A Sweeter Prejudice, came out in 1991, and since then I've written a further 59 books, some of which have won awards in the US and the UK.
I live in York, a historic city in the north of England, and waste the best part of my days planning trips away or on Facebook and Twitter, both of which mean that I end up writing late into the night. As well as romance, I write 'time slips' as Pamela Hartshorne, and am a freelance project editor and occasional writing tutor.

In May 2013 I will publishing the Jessica Hart Vintage Collection of five of my early books from the 90s.
For news of forthcoming books and exclusive offers, do sign up for my newsletter: email jessica@jessicahart.co.uk or come and find me on Facebook.

Reviews

[Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly sweet - in every sense of the word - romance that is no way believable, but very readable and cute. The setup is preposterous: a failing British production company has the chance to win a commission for a documentary series on "the romance industry" (whatever that is), but only if they get sexy economist Simon Valentine to present it. Because when you think romance you think prime derivatives and interest rates.

Not only that, but the company puts an assistant, Clara, in charge of bagging Simon. Not the producer, not the head of the company, but the assistant. Sorry, not in any real world of which I am aware.

Still, Clara is kooky adorable with her musical theatre obsession, and the reader roots for her. Simon is less successful as a character - he's your typical stick up the butt stuffed shirt who disdains the kooky, but of course succumbs to its charm - but you have to love a book that manages to squeeze scenes set in London, Paris, a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, and a snowbound cottage in the Scottish highlands into its slim page count.

A mindless quick read. And for anyone embarrassed by explicit description, Fifty Shades this ain't. The curtain is discreetly drawn.

[Fiona Marsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun read right from the start. The heroine, Clara, is an apparently ditzy young woman who lives her life like a scene from a stage musical. Preferably the Sound of Music with a dash of South Pacific. The uptight Simon is everything she isn't, controlled, ordered and doesn't have an impulsive bone in his body. Maybe he did once but he's carefully trained himself out of those emotional traps.

When he and Clara are thrown together it's like oil and water, until an umbrella and a rainstorm and a kiss start mixing things up good and proper. In fact the two of them have to spend time in some of the most romantic locations talking about romance. Bound to be interesting with a borderline obsessive compulsive guy and a rose spectacled romantic trying to convince each other that they are right. And the funny thing is that they both actually succeed, but not in the way they expect.

Jessica Hart does a great job bringing believable heroes and heroines to the pages of her books. The dialogue is witty and the characters engaging. I admit to being a little irritated with Simon on page 133 when he was still trying to convince himself that his ex was the perfect life partner for him. But heck we couldn't have him capitulate too soon.

If you are after something light with an enjoyable story line this will suit you.

[Natalija · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We'll Always Have Paris" is everything I look for in a romance novel: intriguing plot, amazing setting, humor and two utterly different characters who make a surprisingly delightful couple.

Clara is no ordinary girl: she is full of wit, has a great sense of humor and an eye-catching sense of style, but above it all she is a true romantic in her heart.

Simon Valentine is an uptight, conservative economist who became a reluctant celebrity and a target of desire for thousands of women after an immense success of his documentary on banking systems. Contrary to Clara, he is all buttoned up and full of "don'ts" with no romantic bone in him.

Imagine these two together in the most romantic places in the world in not-so-romantic situations and you'll have a beautiful love story with playful dialogue and memorable characters.

The final scene was so not expected and I simply couldn't stop grinning. Ms. Hart is a remarkable romance author and I'm eagerly looking forward to her next book.

P.S. I would like to thank the author for sending me an early copy of the book.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many feeeeels, man. So many.

I get this tingly, goose bump feeling when reading this book. I guess it is because Clara Sterne has this predisposition of optimism and romance in her even though Simon Valentine is…logical.

So the book is about Clara needing Simon to get him to be at her programme about the reasons what love is. What they did not know is that one of the other is changing their point of view on the issue on love.



The book has this you-give-me-good-feelings vibe. So if you just want to read something sweet and cute, this book is for you.

Thumbs up for this one!

Credits to all the gifs in this review. All are from the internet. And 9gag too.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a delight from page one. I was sad to read the last full stop at the end of it. I loved the story, the emotion and the characters. Simon and Clara's romance was full of tension, romance and kept the story rolling along wonderfully. Jessica describes everything wondefully, even including the "Sound of music" film in such a unique and quirky way. This book is a gem, and I particularly LOVED the way Jessica closes the door to the bedroom and leaves it for the reader's imagination to work. Very cleverly done.
Jessica is one of my favourite M&B authors and I very much look forward to reading more.

[Fiona Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh. Madcap heroine, stuffy hero - my favourite combination! This book was sweet and endearing and had a ending that made me laugh and cry at the same time. (I won't spoil the surprise!)

[Mauser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Partirò questa recensione dicendo che la traduzione di questo romanzetto è qualcosa di abominevole. che fa sanguinare gli occhi. Locuzioni come "ce l'avevo detto" o "gli ho chiesto" riferito ad un genere femminile sono già di per se fastidiose se incrociate una volta nel testo, ma a ripetizione, come se DAVVERO il traduttore non conoscesse le forme corrette dell'italiano è qualcosa di orribile per qualcuno che lavora nell'editoria.

A parte ciò questo romanzo non mi é affatto piaciuto, noioso, scontato, prevedibile e pieno di luoghi comuni e stereotipi insopportabili sull'amore e l'affetto.
Salvo solo una cosa: il figo in copertina. parafrasando una nota pubblicità "tutto il resto è noia"

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book
Absolutely magical. Worth reading twice!

[Vita Tatarinova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patinka tokios romantinės pasakos. Labai gerai nuteikia saldžiam miegui.

[Aurelia Rowl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt very privileged and thrilled to find a copy of this book on my doormat from Jessica Hart today and I am delighted to be able to review it. I read the book over the course of the next few hours, only putting it down in order to do the school run, picking it up again as soon as I got back.

I took to the characters instantly, being quirky and believable, coming to life off the page so that I enjoyed following their story, rooting for them throughout. The locations were fun and I could almost imagine I was there with them, the descriptions conjuring vivid images and bringing back memories of my own. I even felt like singing along at times LOL and could happily fall for the not-so-typical-alpha hero myself.

I wavered between giving a rating of 4 and 5, falling somewhere in-between, but I don't get to do halves. The story-telling, characters and plot were excellent but I found the change of perspective a little jarring, often having to backtrack and check for the switch. This is perhaps more to do with me not being used to the style of switching point-of-view without a break than the writing itself though, and is something I could probably get used to. (NB: the ratings on Goodreads and Amazon differ slightly, hence it being a 4 here and a 5 on Amazon, both meaning 'I really liked it')

Although I do own another title by this author, it is part of the 'Loving Our Heroes' anthology that I haven't got around to reading yet, so this was my first introduction to her writing and I would happily seek out Jessica Hart books in future.

Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read that prompted a few laughs and leaking eyes. I would happily recommend this book for a light-hearted, warm & fuzzy, enjoyable read and a pleasant escape.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free audiobook for an honest review.

We’ll Always Have Paris isn’t my usual genre but I thought I’d give it a try. These are Jennifer Coburn’s memoirs of her travels with her daughter. I admire that even though their home is in need of repairs, she’d rather save the money to take her daughter on trips to show her world while she can. It’s sad that her reason is because she thinks she’ll die young and, hopefully, she’s wrong. Better safe than sorry, though, I guess.

One of the reasons I don’t read about travels very often is because some authors tend to get bogged down in the descriptions of where they’ve been. Jennifer Coburn, however, describes their travels very well but doesn’t overdo it so it kept my interest throughout. She also has a great sense of humor. I found myself laughing a few times, especially when they were in Panama.

I liked the relationship between Jennifer and her daughter. If I had a daughter, I’d want our relationship to be similar to theirs. I also liked the memories of Jennifer’s parents, especially her father. It’s obvious that she loved him and misses him very much. She’s as good at describing relationships as she is at describing Paris.

The narrator of the story was easy to understand. One thing that threw me off a few times was when I didn’t realize there’d been a change from the present to memories of the past and vice versa. A pause between those changes would have helped a lot.

I definitely recommend We’ll Always Have Paris even if it’s not the type of book you usually read. I’m glad I decided to review this book.

[Nas Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS by Jessica Hart is a January 2012 release from Harlequin Romance.

Simon Valentine doesn’t believe in love. He is an economist so he believes economic imperatives drive the way we think, behave and feel.

Clara Sterne has sworn off man after her last disastrous relationship and she must remain a professional. So now she needs to convince Simon to host a TV documentary on Romance. After much persuasion Simon agrees to present the new documentary. But then he challenges Clara to show him romance in Paris! Will Clara rise to this challenge? Can she convince him, yet again, of the powers of love and romance? After all they’re shooting in the most romantic city in the world, Paris.

WE’LL AWAYS HAVE PARIS is a fast paced, sexy, romantic yet a realistic story. How can two characters so dissimilar in their thinking and outlook will ever end up together? Yet the author has surprises in store for us readers. This story will enthrall readers and the unique premise and master story-telling will captivate. Jessica Hart has come up with an emotionally satisfying story of compromise and sacrifice in relationships. This story shows the significance of knowledge in investing and micro-financing. It also shows how loves importance precede the practical and logical issues of life.

[Flavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara ha un problema: deve assolutamente convincere Simon Valentine, serioso esperto di economia e recalcitrante celebrity, a partecipare al suo documentario sull’amore e il romanticismo.

Questo documentario sarà la sua grande occasione di carriera. Sarà girato in tre dei più romantici scenari possibili: Parigi, un’isola tropicale e uno chalet di montagna, e avrà lo scopo di dimostrare che il romanticismo esiste. L’unica cosa che si interpone tra lei e il successo è quindi proprio Simon, totalmente contrario a partecipare ad una frivolezza del genere, anche se per rappresentare il punto di vista de ‘il romanticismo non esiste, è soltanto una trovata pubblicitaria’.

Clara però non la pensa per niente così e, complici proprio quegli scenari romantici, riuscirà a convincere Simon a cambiare idea. Continua a leggere sul blog

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Simon reminded me of Spock - cool, logical, unflappable. He doesn't believe in love or romance, and feels that relationships should be based on common interests. Clara is just the opposite. She believes in romance and love and that it can make anything better. During the filming of the documentary, Simon's role is to present the case against romance and Clara the case for romance. During the various filmings and even off camera, Clara spends her time looking at the positives and singing and dancing her way through the days. At first, Simon is beyond irritated by it all, but he soon finds himself amused by her antics. From there he finds himself in the surprising position of having fallen in love with Clara - the total opposite of what he thought he wanted. Meanwhile, Clara has fallen for him, but know that she is nothing like what he wants. I loved the conclusion and how Simon convinced Clara of his love.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the cure for a drab day. It was light-hearted fun without being too fluffy. The three very different settings (Paris, tropics, snowy Scotland) give the story a chance to allow these characters to become fully three-dimensional. By the end you are definitely rooting for these two!

Here is a brief summary of the action:

Clara is a production assistant for a TV film-making company and she’s got a new project. Romance: Fact or Fiction is make-or-break for Clara’s future, and her first challenge is to get Simon Valentine, financial guru turned prime-time pin-up, to be on the program.

But Simon’s got no time for romance, real or fictional, and it’s going to take all Clara’s powers of persuasion, not to mention a broken wrist, to get him on board.

[Joanne Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was delighted to receive a copy of this book from the author, Jessica Hart.

I often read Jessica's books as they are full of fun and likeable characters.

"We'll always have Paris" has to be one of my favourite HMB books I have read.

The heroine, Clara, is so full of life I felt myself cheering her on wanting her to have her HEA. And I have to confess I melted at the end when her and Simon got together. Simon is just a great hero! I'm not giving anything away, you'll just have to read it :)

I love Jessica's writing style, it had me chuckling all the way through and I loved all the musical references.

[Sara HarlequinJunkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

View Review on my blog: HarlequinJunkie

Loved this book, another winner from Jessica Hart, one of my favorite authors. Clara and Simon's romance was fun to read, two people with personalities that were poles apart, a case where opposite attract for HEA. The characters in this book were life like and I enjoyed the references to the Sound of Music.
If you are looking for a feel good book to relax with I would definitely recommend this book.

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good romantic comedy. Somehow a little silliness can work in them; things can get a little campy or over-the-top, but if the chemistry is there, audiences will still smile over it. We'll Always Have Paris reminded me of a good rom com movie in book form. It's humorous, not too demanding, and even if a little predictable, the leads work well together.

This is a partial review. The full review can be found at All About Romance: http://likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookRev...

[Vanessa Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really an adorable book - sweet, funny, and very romantic, with opposites-attract characters. The heroine is an incurable romantic who channels Maria from The Sound of Music, and the hero is a buttoned-up economist who thinks romance is for the birds. The plot is a bit silly but entertaining, and puts the hero and heroine in a number of situations that bring their attraction to each other and their competing world views head to head. Jessica Hart is an accomplished author with a lovely, light writing style. I always enjoy the time I spend with her books.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this sweet funny story. It took me a while to warm to the uptight Simon Valentine as he is grudgingly dragged into the world of romance by fun quirky Clara. But Simon's role as the reluctant hero makes the ending even sweeter.
Not as much tension and sizzle that I usually expect from a RIVA but that is by no means a critism as I thoroughly enjoyed the humour and sweet romance created by Jessica Hart. And yes Simon won me over. A super read!

[Maharet · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'"Antiromantico" più romantico del mondo

Carinissmo questo romanzo,Simon con l'aria da brontolone è irresistibile,le sue uscite "antiromantiche" mi hanno fatto morire dal ridere,bella la chimica tra i due protagonisti,lei tenera,buffa,una boccata d'aria fresca...lui una palla al piede,brontolone,scontroso,freddo...eppure si completano,sono una coppia che fa scintille nella Parigi dei romanticoni.Consigliato!!

[Karen Kirst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Hart is one of my favorite authors, and this book does not disappoint. She drew such unique, lovable characters. I laughed out loud at the references to The Sound of Music. Sometimes flamboyant heroines can come across as flighty, but that's not the case here. The heroine was vulnerable and sweet. I was sad not to see an epilogue. Would've loved to see into the future with this couple. Keeper.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avrei dato anche tre stelline perchè l'ho letto in un paio d'ore, ma alla fin fine ho apprezzato solo la prima parte. Dopo la partenza per il programma ho perso interesse.. sembrava tutto troppo affrettato e senza sentimento. Avrei preferito vedere il loro rientro a Londra e come si sarebbero comportati in mezzo agli altri (madre di lui, coinquilina di lei, etc.), ma la storia è finita ancor prima di iniziare - secondo me.

[Seriously Reviewed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with funny, quirky characters and enough laughs to really tickle my fancy :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE a book that can not only keep my entertained but has characters that draw me in and a plot that just rolls right all with this one :) Ms Hart did a fantastic job and I was thrilled with every aspect of this book.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this was a pretty typical romance. Now, I like romance, don't get me wrong, so it's not a bad thing, but this one was just incredibly typical. If you just want something light and fast, this one's for you.

[Nath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 (C+)

[Maurice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightfully bubbly and effervescent read!

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is tamer than my usual read, this romantic story worked well. The characters spent a lot of time with each other and I enjoyed reading about their relationship as it slowly develops.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most perfect love story I have ever read. Everyone needs to read this, the ending is brilliant.

Plus I share the same name as the main guy which is nice ;)

[ѕєяєηιтι · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bir Aşk Güncesi..

Çok be��endim konusu karakterleri giriş çıkış hepsi iyiydi hani biraz daha uzun ve derin yazsa güzel bir kitap olurdu o tadı aldım ben en azından..